Success of Shaheen 3 to Boost Pakistan's Space Program

Pakistan has successfully tested Shaheen III ballistic missile with 1700 mile range. The intermediate range missile can hit deep inside India and Israel. Its multi-stage solid-fuel technology can also be used to launch satellites into space. It has been jointly developed by the National Engineering and Scientific Commission (NESCOM) and the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO). It's the latest example of dual-use technology.

Pakistan Shaheen 3 Missile Range Source: Washington Post
The missile was successfully test-fired into the Arabian Sea on Monday, March 9, 2015, according to the Strategic Plans Division (SPD) which oversees Pakistan’s nuclear program. Announcing the result, General Zubair Mahmood Hayat, the head of SPD, congratulated NESCOM (National Engineering and Scientific Commission) scientists and engineers for “achieving yet another milestone of historic significance.”


Shaheen-III is the latest in the series of the indigenously produced Shaheen-I and Shaheen-II, which had shorter ranges. “The test launch was aimed at validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system at maximum range,” the Pakistani military said in a statement. Pakistani military leaders are trying to maintain a “credible deterrence” as arch-rival India continues to invest heavily in military hardware.

Since the technology used in satellite launch vehicles (SLV) is virtually identical to that used in a ballistic missile, Shaheen 3, the latest enhancement to Shaheen series of missiles, is expected to boost Pakistan's space program as well.  Several nations, including India and Israel recently, have used same rocket motors for  both ballistic missiles and satellite launch vehicles (SLVs).  Israel's Shavit SLV and India's SLV-3 are examples of it.

The success of Shaheen 3 multi-stage solid-fueled ballistic missile is a confirmation of Pakistan's determination to ensure its security AND to pursue its space ambitions at the same time. I congratulate Pakistani engineers and scientists at NESCOM and SUPARCO on their hard work, continuing deep commitment and the latest achievement.

Here's Pakistan's General Kidawi speaking at a Washington Conference:

https://youtu.be/CNZCw0BXKyE





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Comments

Riaz Haq said…
#China vows to deepen maritime security ties with #Pakistan: report http://tribune.com.pk/story/859341/china-vows-to-deepen-maritime-security-ties-with-pakistan-report/ …

BEIJING: China on Thursday vowed to deepen maritime security, anti-terrorism, security and military cooperation with Pakistan to further strengthen their ‘all-weather’ strategic ties.

The “pledge” was made by Chinese Central Military Commission Vice Chairperson General Fan Changlong during his meeting with Pakistan Navy Chief Muhammad Zakaullah in Beijing.

Fan said China hopes to enhance coordination and cooperation with Pakistan on regional security affairs.

“China is willing to deepen cooperation with Pakistan in anti-terrorism, maritime security and military technology,” Fan said.

China together with Pakistan will push for the construction of the Pakistan-China Economic Corridor within the construct of China’s “Belt and Road” initiatives.

Zakaullah said that Pakistan will work with China to deepen logical cooperation between the two armed forces.

Previously, the Pakistan naval chief said that Pakistan Navy and PLA Navy are strengthening their existing maritime cooperation, keeping in mind the changing regional international scenarios.

Yesterday (Wednesday) Zakaullah met with Commander of the PLA (Navy) Admiral Wu Shengli and said that the navies of Pakistan and China have been cooperating for decades.

He said that military cooperation between the two countries is extensive and it covers equipment, personnel exchanges and joint exercises.

Zakaullah said Pakistan strongly supports PLA Navy’s enhanced role in the international arena.
Riaz Haq said…
The story with India and Pakistan is they still have growing nuclear arsenals. These limited technical agreements have not produced the kind of foundation for that broader relationship that some of the analysis talking about Iran seems to expect.

SIEGEL: What do you make of the argument that countries that acquire nuclear arsenals, even if they sound remarkably belligerent before that time, tend to behave fairly responsibly once they do have nuclear arsenals?

O'DONNELL: Well, I mean, to that I can only say look at the example of North Korea. You know, it's one of the most irresponsible states in the world. It's always making nuclear threats. If a state has nuclear weapons, that doesn't automatically guarantee a certain format of behavior.

SIEGEL: And the India-Pakistan conflict - I mean, do you think of it as one that actually has the potential of turning into a nuclear exchange anytime in the even distant future?

O'DONNELL: I don't see that getting to the level of a nuclear exchange. However, what concerns me is that there is not a sustainable, ongoing dialogue to reduce tensions between India and Pakistan. What has happened in recent years is that both sides adopt a tough stance and start escalating, and they both wait for the United States to come in and provide both of them the face-saving exercise that the United States will intervene and bring them both down. There are not mechanisms to de-escalate once a crisis emerges.

SIEGEL: Yeah.

O'DONNELL: That is what I find most concerning about the situation there.

SIEGEL: That addressing the question of nuclear weapons can be a remarkably compartmentalized and technical development and really have no implications for a more peaceful relations between countries.

O'DONNELL: I think that India and Pakistan developed nuclear weapons out of both of their own sense of security threat. And for there to be some measures of reducing nuclear tensions, this has to be part of a broader political dialogue involving what both of their own threat perceptions are, and also, I argue, including China as well because China is very much part of the South Asian strategic environment. It's very much a player in the region.

SIEGEL: Do you see any parallels between Iran today and Pakistan and India at the point where they were intent on developing nuclear weapons?

O'DONNELL: The main parallel I see with Iran - up until really the Obama administration came in, the activities it was conducting up to that point seemed to me very reminiscent of what India was doing - the position it had up until it conducted testing in 1998. For a long period - say, from about the mid '80s and up until 1998, what India did was it had the capability. It had all the material. It had the knowledge. It had, you know, the missiles all sitting disassembled in its basement. By doing that, it meant that it would not be sanctioned as it was after 1998 for conducting the nuclear tests. However, it could in some ways behave like a nuclear-weapon state. It could throw its weight around a bit more. And I wonder if Iranians who are, you know, running the program did look at India's experience as a guide.



http://www.npr.org/2015/03/30/396405005/iran-talks-shed-light-on-nuclear-tensions-between-india-pakistan
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan To Buy 8 Submarines From China

He (Analyst Haris Khan) said the Type-214 deal was the centerpiece of the naval aspect of the AFDP, and that the first submarine would have been delivered in 2015. The naval aspect of the AFDP especially is in total disarray, he said.

It is unknown if the Type-214 was shelved until finances become available (some industry officials believe this was at least the intention at the time the deal collapsed), but attention subsequently switched to acquiring six AIP-equipped submarines from China.

Due to the need to decommission the Agosta-70s, Khan believes any refurbished submarines will be required to be "sailing under a Pakistani flag within 12 months."

Acquiring Turkish Type-209s remains possible, and despite Pakistan's predicament, Khan says "Under the present circumstances I don't see any collaboration between Pakistan and Turkey since Pakistan will only be locally producing Chinese submarines."

Whether the Chinese submarines are the S-20 export derivative of the Type-039A/Type-041 Yuan-class submarine, or a bespoke design, is unclear. But the Yuan has also been mentioned, and according to government officials the deal was supposed to be secured by the end of 2014.

If the deal transpires, Khan said it will be the largest ever Sino-Pakistani deal. He believes the submarines will each cost $ 250 million to $325 million.

Neither the Ministry of Defence nor the Navy would shed further light when asked. No answers were forthcoming to requests regarding the timeframe of the deal, whether the two Agosta-70s will finally be retired now the number of planned Chinese submarines has increased to eight, clarification on acquiring surplus Western submarines, or the status of the Type-214 acquisition efforts.

Should the Chinese deal go through, it will be a considerable relief, and be especially significant for the nuclear deterrent.

Pakistan inaugurated its Naval Strategic Force Command in 2012 in response to India's rapid nuclearization.

A potential force of 8 AIP-equipped Chinese subs and the three Agosta-90Bs "is a quantum leap in existing capabilities," said Mansoor Ahmed of Quaid-e-Azam University's Department of Defence and Strategic Studies.

Though acknowledging nuclear-powered attack boats are far more capable, he believes "An AIP [diesel-electric submarine] offers Pak the best bang for the buck. But it has to be supplemented with a commensurate investment in [anti-submarine warfare] capabilities to neutralize developments on the Indian side."

He said this will lay the groundwork for having a permanent sea-based deterrent equipped with plutonium-based warheads fitted to cruise missiles, "which is expected to be the next major milestone in Pakistan's development of a triad."

Ahmed acknowledges this "would pose fresh challenges for ensuring effective and secure communications at all times with the submarines for both India and Pak in addition to having a mated-arsenal at sea that would require pre-delegation of launch authority at some level for both countries.

"This would be an altogether new challenge that would have to be addressed for an effective sea-based deterrent."

Nevertheless, AIP-equipped conventional submarines "provide reliable second strike platforms, [and] an assured capability resides with [nuclear-powered attack and nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines], which are technically very complex and challenging to construct and operate compared to SSKs, and also very capital intensive."

http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/naval/submarines/2015/04/03/pakistan-to-buy-8-submarines-from-china/25233481/
Riaz Haq said…
The Balance of Terror
Who’s Afraid of Iran’s Big Bad Bomb? by Uri Averny

According to foreign experts, Israel has several hundred nuclear bombs (assessments vary between 80-400. If Iran sends its bombs and obliterates most of Israel (myself included), Israeli submarines will obliterate Iran. Whatever I might think about Binyamin Netanyahu, I rely on him and our security chiefs to keep our “second strike” capability intact. Just last week we were informed that Germany had delivered another state-of-the-art submarine to our navy for this purpose.

Israeli idiots – and there are some around – respond: “Yes, but the Iranian leaders are not normal people. They are madmen. Religious fanatics. They will risk the total destruction of Iran just to destroy the Zionist state. Like exchanging queens in chess.”

Such convictions are the outcome of decades of demonizing. Iranians – or at least their leaders – are seen as subhuman miscreants.

Reality shows us that the leaders of Iran are very sober, very calculating politicians. Cautious merchants in the Iranian bazaar style. They don’t take unnecessary risks. The revolutionary fervor of the early Khomeini days is long past, and even Khomeini would not have dreamt of doing anything so close to national suicide.

According to the Bible, the great Persian king Cyrus allowed the captive Jews of Babylon to return to Jerusalem and rebuild their temple. At that time, Persia was already an ancient civilization – both cultural and political.

After the “return from Babylon”, the Jewish commonwealth around Jerusalem lived for 200 years under Persian suzerainty. I was taught in school that these were happy years for the Jews.

Since then, Persian culture and history has lived through another two and a half millennia. Persian civilization is one of the oldest in the world. It has created a great religion and influenced many others, including Judaism. Iranians are fiercely proud of that civilization.

To imagine that the present leaders of Iran would even contemplate risking the very existence of Persia out of hatred of Israel is both ridiculous and megalomaniac.

Moreover, throughout history, relations between Jews and Persians have almost always been excellent. When Israel was founded, Iran was considered a natural ally, part of David Ben-Gurion’s “strategy of the periphery” – an alliance with all the countries surrounding the Arab world.

The Shah, who was re-installed by the American and British secret services, was a very close ally. Teheran was full of Israeli businessmen and military advisers. It served as a base for the Israeli agents working with the rebellious Kurds in northern Iraq who were fighting against the regime of Saddam Hussein.

After the Islamic revolution, Israel still supported Iran against Iraq in their cruel 8-year war. The notorious Irangate affair, in which my friend Amiram Nir and Oliver North played such an important role, would not have been possible without the old Iranian-Israeli ties.

Even now, Iran and Israel are conducting amiable arbitration proceedings about an old venture: the Eilat-Ashkelon oil pipeline built jointly by the two countries.

If the worst comes to the worst, nuclear Israel and nuclear Iran will live in a Balance of Terror.

Highly unpleasant, indeed. But not an existential menace.

However, for those who live in terror of the Iranian nuclear capabilities, I have a piece of advice: use the time we still have.

Under the American-Iranian deal, we have at least 10 years before Iran could start the final phase of producing the bomb.

http://www.counterpunch.org/2015/04/03/whos-afraid-of-irans-big-bad-bomb/
Riaz Haq said…
This #Pakistan #nuclear missile, Shaheen III with 2,750 Km, can hit targets anywhere in #India. #Nukes #Missiles http://journalobserver.com/2015/12/this-pakistan-missile-can-hit-targets-anywhere-in-india/ …

Pakistan test-fired a nuclear-capable ballistic missile on Friday (Dec 11), the military said, two days after the government confirmed it would resume high-level peace talks with arch-rival India.

The military said it had fired a Shaheen III surface-to-surface ballistic missile which can carry nuclear and conventional warheads within a range of 2,750km.

Shaheen-III has a maximum range of 2,750 kilometers (1, 700 miles).

According to Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the test flight was aimed at validating various design and technical parameters of the weapon system.

Pakistan became a declared nuclear power in 1998.

The test was witnessed by senior officers from Strategic Plans Division, Strategic Forces, Scientists and Engineers of Strategic Organisations. He said Pakistan desires peaceful co-existence in the region for which nuclear deterrence would further strengthen strategic stability in South Asia.

It may be noted here that the Shaheen-I and Shaheen-II missiles were test-fired in Pakistan a year ago.

India and Pakistan are longtime foes engaged in a regional arms race, stemming from a conflict dating back to Britain's partitioning of its Indian protectorate into what now are India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Riaz Haq said…
#China Newspaper: Range of #Pakistan's #nuclear #missiles will increase if #India continues to extend its range.

http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1027113.shtml

On Monday, India successfully tested its long-range ballistic missile, Agni-IV, which can travel 4,000 kilometers and carry a nuclear warhead, in the wake of an earlier successful test-firing of Agni-V that has a range of more than 5,000 kilometers. The country's media were elated in their reports, stressing that India's tests of the nuclear-capable ballistic missile "covers entire China." "Agni-V can deter China," said The Times of India.

India has broken the UN's limits on its development of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile. The US and some Western countries have also bent the rules on its nuclear plans. New Delhi is no longer satisfied with its nuclear capability and is seeking intercontinental ballistic missiles that can target anywhere in the world and then it can land on an equal footing with the UN Security Council's five permanent members.

India is "promising" in vying for permanent membership on the UN Security Council as it is the sole candidate who has both nuclear capability and economic potential.

China should realize that Beijing wouldn't hold back India's development of long-range ballistic missiles.

However, Chinese don't feel India's development has posed any big threat to it. And India wouldn't be considered as China's main rival in the long run. It is simply believed that currently there is a vast disparity in power between the two countries and India knows what it would mean if it poses a nuclear threat to China. The best choice for Beijing and New Delhi is to build rapport.

If the Western countries accept India as a nuclear country and are indifferent to the nuclear race between India and Pakistan, China will not stand out and stick rigidly to those nuclear rules as necessary. At this time, Pakistan should have those privileges in nuclear development that India has.

China is sincere in developing friendly ties with India. But it will not sit still if India goes too far. Meanwhile, New Delhi understands that it does little good to itself if the Sino-Indian relations are ruined by any geopolitical tricks.

In general, it is not difficult for India to produce intercontinental ballistic missiles which can cover the whole world. If the UN Security Council has no objection over this, let it be. The range of Pakistan's nuclear missiles will also see an increase. If the world can adapt to these, China should too.

India still maintains a strategic defensive posture before China. The Chinese people should not be led astray by India's extreme words online about its deterrence ability against China. There are similar rhetorics targeting at India in China's cyber world. But, these aggressive online rhetorics count for little.

At present, India's GDP accounts for about 20 percent of China's. China's strategic nuclear missiles have long ago realized global coverage, and China's overall military industrial capacity is much better than that of India.

For India, China is something to inspire ambition and invoke patriotism. However, India should realize that owning several missiles does not mean it is a nuclear power. Even though India does become a nuclear power, it will be a long time before it can show off its strength to the world.

Riaz Haq said…
The Pakistan military has reportedly conducted the first successful flight test of a new medium range ballistic missile (MRBM), according to the Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media arm of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

The test involved the successful launch of the surface-to-surface MRBM Ababeel, reportedly capable of carrying multiple warheads using Multiple Independent Re-entry Vehicle technology (MIRV). The new missile purportedly has a maximum range of 2,200 kilometers (1,367 miles).


---------------

A third MRBM, the Shaheen-III, a multi-stage fueled ballistic missile with an estimated range of 2,750 kilometers (1,700 miles) is currently still under development by the National Development Complex. It is possible that the Ababeel is a more robust and redesigned variant of the Shaheen-III fitted with an improved terminal guidance system, among other modifications. Indeed, in order to accommodate a MIRV warhead, the Shaheen-III would in all likelihood have undergone a complete redesign.

Based on the press release it is unclear, however, whether Pakistan has mastered MIRV technology given that it merely mentions that the missile is “capable” of being fitted with a MIRV warhead, rather than announcing that it has mastered the technology and developed MIRV payloads.

And while the test will cause alarm in New Delhi, Islamabad will need to further invest in and develop intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities including satellite technology (e.g., by adapting and refining China’s Beidou-II satellite navigation system for Pakistan’s sea- and land-based missile systems) to operationalize ballistic missiles capable of carrying multiple warheads and field a credible MIRV capability.

Nevertheless, the possible introduction of MIRV warheads is a clear sign that the nuclear arms race between India and Pakistan is escalating. The mentioning of MIRV technology in the press release announces a new and more dangerous stage in the nuclear arms competition in South Asia.

http://thediplomat.com/2017/01/pakistan-tests-new-ballistic-missile-capable-of-carrying-multiple-nuclear-warheads/

Riaz Haq said…
Hurdles in Pakistan’s Quest for Reaching Space

https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2018/03/22/hurdles-in-pakistans-quest-for-reaching-space/

Though Pakistan is a developing state but it never shied away from pursuing ambitious technological pursuits. Pakistan’s space program “Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO)” established in 1961, is an example that as a nation importance of space exploration is not lost on state. Pakistan was the first country among its regional neighbors to pursue space program. However, these glittering generalities are part of the past that Pakistan witnessed regarding space satellites. Currently Pakistan is lagging in space program. In this day and age Pakistan has yet to launch remote sensing satellite in space which is essential in monitoring, recording change and in intelligence gathering as well.

Contrary to Pakistan its neighbor India which initiated its space program 8 years later, is now a record holder of sending more than 100 commercial and national satellites in one go. Furthermore, India has so far launched more than 100 satellites and establishes its network of satellites not only for commercial purposes but for military purposes as well. At the moment, India is using its 13 satellites for military purposes including Cartosat 1 and 2, Risat 1 and 2 and GSAT-7 or INSAT-4F for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over enemy areas.

The fact that India is also a developing country where the population is increasing and resources are becoming scarce by the day, is thought compelling. It is evident that by being mindful of military and economic benefits of space exploration India never gave up on its progress in arena of space technology. Significant contribution to India’s space program came from the development of strategic ties with the US and consequently its accession to MTCR and Wassenaar Arrangement. It’s beyond any reasonable doubt that India’s space program achieved its glorious heights after making strategic ties with the US.

International support received by India is one of the significant reasons behind robust success of its space program but the same is not the reason behind slow pace of Pakistan’s space program.

There are several contributing factors behind inactive space program that Pakistan is running. One of the biggest technical short comings Pakistan is still facing in its space satellite program is the dearth of launching vehicle for space satellite. The satellite launch vehicle enables a state to enter its payload into an outer orbit from earth’s surface through the help of carrier rocket. Recent telecommunication and digital satellite launched by Pakistan utilized China’s assistance. So, the biggest short coming in technical sphere is absence of satellite launch vehicle. Pakistan is a state with sufficient man power but needs financial sources to build satellite launch vehicles.

To reserve finances for space program it is essential that government builds state narrative on importance of space exploration as satellites are not only essential for military purposes but is also a growing industry. In a time where super power is governing international system through the help of information technology and globalization has massive effects on state affairs, space satellites are becoming economic opportunity to be seized. So far in South Asia only country which is tapping space is India and thus seizing all the economic benefits along with military benefits. Economic benefits of the space exploration are undeniable; states providing launch facilities to the host space satellites earn huge revenue for providing the launch facilities. At the moment, India is only South Asian regional player which is hosting commercial satellite and is even providing services to companies like Google.
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan pushes for homegrown satellite development
By: Usman Ansari

https://www.defensenews.com/space/2018/05/03/pakistan-pushes-for-homegrown-satellite-development/

Pakistan has launched an ambitious satellite program as part of ongoing efforts to wean itself off dependence on foreign-owned assets for civil and military applications.

Pakistan’s domestic space agency, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, or SUPARCO, will receive a budget of just more than $40 million for fiscal 2018-2019.

Of this, some $22 million has been allocated for space centers related to the Pakistan Multi-Mission Satellite in Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore, plus the establishment of a research center in Karachi.

To get all the news about space and strategic systems delivered to your inbox every month, be sure to sign up for our Military Space Report newsletter.

However, the final cost of all three aspects of the project is reported in local media as being in the region of $470 million.

No response from SUPARCO was forthcoming when asked by Defense News regarding details about foreign cooperation on this endeavor, although existing information on planned remote sensing satellite programs list an electro-optical sensor-equipped satellite, and a synthetic aperture radar-equipped example.

An existing communications satellite partially co-developed in Pakistan, PAKSAT-1R, was launched by China Great Wall Industry Corporation in 2011.

“It is essential for all countries that they free themselves from dependence on U.S.-location satellite programs,” said Brian Cloughley, author, analyst and former Australian defense attache to Islamabad.

“I have no doubt this has been [in] the cards for some time and that the Chinese are helping.”

Defense News previously reported that Pakistan’s military had access to China’s BeiDou satellite navigation system for military applications, which had special implications for the effectiveness of its sea-based deterrent.

Pakistan also has a long-standing satellite development agreement with Turkey, which has its own recently unveiled observation satellite program.

However, at present it is unknown if anything has resulted from this, or if it will be pushed further down the road.

Cloughley believes it would take a long time to come to fruition, making cooperation with China more likely still.

Also, on cost grounds alone for the new program, Cloughley believes it likely that reliance on China will grow.

“The big question about this development is about where the money is to come from. Pakistan’s economic situation is dire, and commitment to such a program will not meet with [International Monetary Fund] approval. The China connection will probably deepen even further,” he said.

Whether China’s satellite technology will meet Pakistan’s requirements is unknown.

Brian Weeden, director of program planning at Secure World Foundation and an expert in space technologies and satellites, is unaware of the details of any satellites China may be building for Pakistan. However, he “would rate China’s technology in these areas as fairly good.”

“They’re not yet as capable as the most advanced American or European commercial technology, let alone the U.S. or European military satellites, but the Chinese technology is rapidly improving,” he said.
Riaz Haq said…
It would appear that Iran chose to choose to use two identical half length solid motors of identical diameter for a second and third stage instead of the Shaheen-2 like first stage one with a sea level nozzle and the second one with an altitude nozzle as the second stage.

https://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/iran/solid-prop-1.htm

It would appear that Pakistan in fact plans to lengthen the Shaheen-2 first and second stage solid motors to obtain higher performance for its space booster while retaining the existing M-11 based Shaheen-1 solid motors strap–on boosters. In any case both developments could and would lead to potential IRBM/ICBM development masquerading as space boosters for both countries.

--------------

Iran ’s missile solid propellant rocket motor program is not believed to be advanced enough compared to its liquid fuel rocket engine program, launch vehicle program to provide much more than strap on solid motors or upper and last stage satellite orbit injection solid motor for launch vehicles. This is based on the examples of the Naze’at-6 (NP-110), Naze’at-10 (NP-110A), Zelzel-1 (Mushak-100), Zelzel-2 (Mushak-200), and Fateh-110/110A. This solid motor program is known to be years behind the liquid propellant program but it is making systematic deliberate and critical strides that will eventually bring it up to IRBM, ICBM potential. Iran is believed during the year 2000 to have started the development of a new multi-stage solid propellant motor based Ghadr-101, and Ghadr-110, which may be an Iranian variant on the Shaheen-1, and Shaheen-II design of Pakistan . This advance is presumably thanks to the A. Q. Khan network, which in turn can thank China for its M-9, M-11 and M-18 technology.
Riaz Haq said…
Almost all Indian media outlets – from electronic and print to social – are giving wide coverage to an apparently ‘unusual development in the region’ under which Pakistan is all set to upgrade and advance its indigenous space programme which previously had “limited quality advancements” as compared to that of India, who has of late been engaged in active cooperation with the United States in order to enhance and upgrade its (Indian) satellite programme. In the recently announced annual budget, the Pakistan government has allocated a reasonable funding for the project. After successful completion of the programme, Pakistan is likely to come at par in space technology as well.

https://dailytimes.com.pk/238287/pakistan-set-to-compete-india-in-space-too/

Obviously the news of Pakistan’s more vibrant and advance space programme plan has sent shockwaves across the world, especially India, as the report published in newspapers specifically mentions that this programme is primarily aimed at keeping an eye on the Indian side besides serving other purposes. However, on the other hand, people of Pakistan, civil society, intelligentsia and political-cum-defence observers have expressed great satisfaction as for Pakistan advance space programmes were the need of the hour, not only from the defence point of view but also due to the growing demand from the civil communications, including the GPS, mobile telephony and the internet as well as due to changing scenario in the region, under which India has advanced itself to create security imbalance in the region.

Pakistan is entering a new era of advancement after its most successful, advanced and vibrant nuclear deterrent and missile system programmes. This will help reduce Pakistan’s dependence on foreign satellites it needs to use for civil and military purposes. Earlier Pakistan had been getting help from the US and France. Under the new indigenous space programme, Pakistan plans to initiate several projects to develop its own capacity while reducing the dependence on foreign satellites.

Pakistan is planning to establish various space centres, for example in cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad with the allocation of Rs 1 billion.

The budget for SUPARCO (Pakistan’s “Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Organisation”) for the upcoming fiscal year 2018-19 has been set as Rs 4.70 billion, which includes Rs 2.55 billion for three new projects. SUPARCO has regularly been conducting activities each year to increase awareness of space technology and to promote its peaceful usage amongst the students and the masses in Pakistan since 2005. The budget allocation includes funding of Rs 1.35 billion for Pakistan Multi-Mission Satellite (PakSat-MM1). Likewise, Pakistan is planning to establish various space centres, for example in cities like Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad with the allocation of Rs 1 billion. Another project, third in a row, which is on cards, is establishment of Space Application Research Centre in Karachi with the budget of Rs 200 million in 2018-19. The total cost of PakSat-MM1 is said to be Rs 27.57 billion and the cost of the space centres is Rs 26.91 billion.

Space-based communication systems offer fast and affordable means of providing services like tele-education, telemedicine, mobile telephony and television to remote areas. The diversity and cultural exchanges of our populations can be better served by television broadcasting via satellites. Besides, communication satellites provide an important and essential communication medium to Pakistan’s armed forces. Remote sensing satellites have great potential in contributing to better land management, food security, disaster management, urban planning, mineral exploration, crop yield forecasting, water management, etc. Weather has a profound effect on life. Weather satellites provide forecasts on temperature, precipitation, cloudiness and winds have both civilian and military applications.
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan to set up its own Space Centre for Satellite production & development
https://www.techjuice.pk/pakistan-to-set-up-its-own-space-centre-for-satellite-production-development/



On 14 May 2018, the Government of Pakistan announced that it will establish the Pakistan Space Centre (PSC) to start the domestic development and manufacturing of satellites. According to a report by Pakistan’s state-owned Associated Press of Pakistan (APP), the PSC will undertake its programs “in accordance with international space standards” in the coming years.

The APP also reports that Pakistan will complete feasibility studies for two new projects:
Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite 02 (PRSS-02) with “sub-meter” resolution image capture capability.
Second, the Pakistan Navigation Satellite System (PakNav), which will provide Pakistan with “independent satellite navigation for both civilian and strategic purposes”.
The PRSS-1 was initially scheduled for launch (by China) in March 2018, but this has been delayed due to some reasons. However, Pakistan is still committed to launching it in 2018.

The initiative, if it becomes a reality, would be a big step forward to the space development programs in Pakistan.

Recently, Pakistan and China signed an agreement for the development and launch of PakSat Multi-Mission Satelite (PakSat-MM1) as well. PakSat-MM1 will primarily function as a communications satellite with the capability to provide Direct-to-Home (DTH) services. The PakSat-MM1 will primarily serve a commercial role, e.g. provide Direct-to-Home (DTH) services.
Riaz Haq said…
Two #Pakistani #Satellites launched into orbit by #China: #Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) for day/night surveillance, PakTES-1A satellite, a scientific experiment satellite designed and developed by #Pakistan #space agency #SUPARCO

http://spacenews.com/two-chinese-launches-in-24-hours-deliver-pakistan-satellites-beidou-backup-to-orbit/


China launched twice July 9, with an early Long March 2C launch of two satellites for Pakistan into low Earth orbit being followed up with a Long March 3A mission to back up China’s Beidou navigation satellite system.

The first launch saw the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) lofted from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in a desert region of Gansu province, northwest China, at 03:56 UTC July 9 (11:56 p.m. Eastern July 8).

The optical satellite was put into a 588 by 624 kilometer orbit inclined by 98 degrees by the Long March 2C/SMA configuration which uses an upper stage.

PRSS-1 was developed by the China Academy of Space Technology (CAST) and is based on a CAST-2000 satellite bus. Its imaging system provides panchromatic and multispectral imaging at 1-meter and 4-meter resolution, respectively, with a swarth width of around 60 kilometers.

It will be used for land and resources surveying, monitoring of natural disasters, agriculture research, urban construction and providing remote-sensing information for the establishment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and in the Belt and Road initiative, according to Chinese state media.

PRSS-1 was accompanied by the smaller PakTES-1A satellite, a scientific experiment satellite designed and developed by Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).

CAST is a subsidiary of the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC), the main contractor for the Chinese space program, which also provided the launch service. CAST also stated it provided training to Pakistan personnel as part of the satellite package, with SUPARCO to operate PRSS-1 after on-orbit delivery.

China has in recent years adopted a strategy of offering turnkey projects which include satellite manufacture and launch as well as possible financing mechanisms. The country has launched communications and other satellites for countries including Belarus, Laos, Venezuela, Bolivia and Nigeria.
Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan’s first remote sensing #satellite and Pakistan’s indigenous #Technology Evaluation Satellite (PakTES-1A) have become fully operational, according to the Ministry of Planning, Development and Reform. #space

https://www.geo.tv/latest/207416-pakistans-first-remote-sensing-satellite-becomes-operational

The satellites were successfully launched from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre, China on July 9, 2018.

The planning, development and reform ministry shared the news on its social media: “After the successful tests in the orbit, the #satellites are fully operational and today, the control of PRSS-1 Satellite has been successfully transferred to Ground Control Stations in #Pakistan!”

Riaz Haq said…
China-Pakistan satellite nexus affects India’s war strategy

http://www.dnaindia.com/analysis/column-china-pakistan-satellite-nexus-affects-india-s-war-strategy-2650312

China’s commercial interests in the South Asian space market have expanded into the security sphere, with it launching Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1). This is ostensibly a crop and resources monitoring platform, but the military utility is obvious. The satellite was built by China, which is already investing in a high resolution remote sensing constellation “Yaogan”, possessing sophisticated electro-optic and radar sensors for military purposes. These satellites play a critical role in China’s Anti-Ship Ballistic Missile project, feeding time sensitive information for the missile launch and manoeuvring.

Pakistan possessing such an advanced platform disrupts India’s battlefield superiority to an extent. A two-front war would stress allocation of resources and any qualitative enhancement of enemy’s forces would jeopardise India’s strategy. By acquiring satellite information, Pakistan will enhance its sensor to shooter connectivity and make precision strikes against Indian targets. This makes Pakistan’s tactical nuclear weapons more deadly against advancing Indian Army columns. Pakistan is already acquiring attack aircraft and warships from China, in addition to adopting its BeiDou GPS network that can give 10 cm accuracy on restricted military signal.

The utility of GPS for military operations was well established by the United States, during the Gulf War and India’s inadequacy during the Kargil conflict. The use of Cartosat imaging for surgical strikes demonstrates the role played by remote sensing satellites. Therefore, Pakistan’s enhancement of its military capabilities, using space assets must be dominated by India improving its network-centric capabilities, including satellites. The inclusion of private industry in satellite manufacturing and launch vehicle operations should help remove the bottlenecks and improve India’s space advantages qualitatively and quantitatively.
Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan's first #space mission to be launched in 2022. An agreement between Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) and a #Chinese company has already been signed. #China #CPEC https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/385381-first-pakistani-space-mission-in-2022

Pakistan in July this year launched two of its satellites into the orbit from Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in China.


The satellites, Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite-1 (PRSS-1) and Pakistan Technology Evaluation Satellite-1A (PakTES-1A), were propelled into space through the Chinese Long March 2C launch vehicle.

The PRSS-1 is to be mainly used in Pakistan for land resources survey, evaluation, dynamic monitoring and management, resource utilisation, environmental disaster monitoring, agricultural survey, and urban construction.

The satellite, which has a designed life of seven years, is equipped with two panchromatic/multispectral cameras, with a resolution up to a meter and a coverage range of 60 km.
Riaz Haq said…
Bitter rivals blast off as #Pakistan enters #space race with #India. Both plan #astronauts in space in 2022. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-26/bitter-rivals-blast-off-as-pakistan-enters-space-race-with-india via @bpolitics

The rivalry between India and Pakistan seems to be extending into outer space.

“The first Pakistani will be sent to space in 2022,” Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said Thursday, the same year that India is planning its first manned mission. Pakistan’s space agency, the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission, has “an agreement for this venture” with China’s Manned Space Agency, Chaudhry said.


While Pakistan’s financial capabilities for such a mission are seen as limited, the announcement still reflects the latest swipe between the two countries who have fought three wars since the partition of British India in 1947 and still trade fire across a de facto border in the disputed region of Kashmir.

The countries’ bitter rivalry is costing them $35 billion in annual trade, according to a World Bank report.

India has already conducted missions to Mars and the moon, and plans to spend $1.4 billion to send a crew of three to space by 2022, which would put it on track to become the fourth nation to send humans to space.
Riaz Haq said…
Meet Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad - Pakistan's first space scientist at Cambridge University

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/484373-pakistan-space-scientist-dr-yarjan-abdul-samad-makes-country-proud

Balochi youth Dr Yarjan Abdul Samad has made Pakistan proud to have become the first space scientist at the world’s best and the Britain’s leading university of Cambridge.

Dr Yarjan works at the Cambridge Graphene Centre, Engineering Department of the University of Cambridge. His department involves research work in connection with the devices used in the space-bound satellites. The institution is run in collaboration with the European Space Agency and other research institutions.

“At the department, we make devices that are used in the space,” Dr Yarjan told Geo News. He belongs to a far-flung village, Buleda, located off Turbat, Balochistan. “I am proud that as a Baloch and a Pakistani, I’m the first Pakistani to work as a space scientist at the Cambridge University.”


We are making efforts to work out the devices that function without any energy and electricity, he pointed out. These devices will provide cooling to the spacecrafts while in space, he said.

The young scientist performed his scientific experiments several times at zero gravity in space during three years.

The young Pakistani scientist said he was willing to share his technology and experiments with the Pakistani Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).

Dr Yarjan said he was also willing to train the Pakistani space scientists. “We launch flights, including the parabolic ones or sounding rockets, for our experiments. We can replicate them in Pakistan too,” he remarked. The space scientist said the technology may be launched in Pakistan as well, he pointed out.

I’m used to struggle very hard like soldiers, he responded to query regarding the troubles and constraints he faces during his space travels. “Our job is like that of soldiers,” he said. “There is no space for any fear when you are committed to your work.”

The space technology is going to make progress by leaps and bounds in the days to come to serve different purposes, including improving the environments, he believes.
Riaz Haq said…
Mansoor Ahmed - Ready for Your Close-Up?05.29.12


https://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/about/people/mahmed-og.html


Associate Director of the Astrophysics Project Division, Mansoor “Moonie” Ahmed, was born and raised in Peshawar, Pakistan in the northwest frontier area on the border with Afghanistan. “There was a movie house across the street from us and that’s how I got hooked on movies. At the age of six, I wanted to grow up to be an usher so I could see all the films for free,” remembers Ahmed.

Ahmed picked up his first video camera when his kids were born and began making movies of his friends and family, including local performing arts organizations. He had no formal training in cinematography. “That’s how I honed my filmmaking skills and learned editing techniques. I just watched a lot of films and read a lot of books on video making and directing,” he explains.


Mansoor "Moonie" Ahmed in his editing suite. Credit: M. Ahmed
From 1990 to about 1999, he was the Technical Director of the television show “Pakistan Vision,” which was produced by a friend. “I set up the studio in Burtonsville, Md., and then shot and edited the show.” Around 2003, this same friend was lamenting the passing of the heyday of the Pakistani movie industry in the 1960s and 70s and decided to produce a local, low-budget film to encourage Pakistani filmmakers to do the same. “I jumped on the idea. It was a chance for me to make a real film,” says Ahmed.

The result was a film called “Bhool,” which in Urdu, the language of Pakistan, means “An Error in Judgment.” Loosely based on an old Pakistani film, this version was modernized and focuses on women’s entitlement. “Everyone has an Achilles’ heel, a character flaw. This story is about a series of mistakes and misunderstandings stemming from everyone’s Achilles’ heel,” explains Ahmed. His cousin, an award-winning playwright living in Pakistan, wrote the screenplay. The actors were from the local performing arts groups Ahmed had been filming. “The leading lady had never acted before and she did the best job,” says Ahmed. “All of my family, including my wife and kids, and sisters-in-law, are extras in ‘Bhool.’ We all relied on friends and family to shoot.”

The film took five years to complete. “We were amateurs. We all had regular jobs, so we’d work on this film evenings and weekends. We were all volunteers,” says Ahmed. Their sole investor spent about $50,000 on cameras, lights, sound equipment, and a computer editing system. “Plus, he fed us.”

“Every scene had its own challenges and interests. Also, I had to change the actors’ mindset from being on the stage and using big movements to being on film and using more subtle movements,” explains Ahmed. He found editing to be the most interesting part of filmmaking. “The editing process allows you to create several options for how to move the story forward. The intellectual challenge is figuring out which one will work best with the audience. A technical challenge is creating a smooth looking scene using pieces taken from multiple takes of the same scene shot from different angles and perspectives. There are various reasons a scene may not be shot in one take. It could be the actor
Riaz Haq said…
#Israel would welcome ties with #Pakistan. The #Muslim giant could become the next success in Israel’s growing acceptance around the world. Should #India worry? https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium-israel-would-welcome-ties-with-pakistan-should-india-worry-1.7805334

Behind the scenes, Israel and Pakistan have interacted occasionally. Yet the only public meeting between officials of the two states, the famous handshake between Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and his Pakistani counterpart Khursheed Kasuri in Turkey on September 1, 2005, did not produce a thaw in the official traditional hostile posture against Israel. This hostility is well rooted in the prevailing Muslim culture in Pakistan. Moreover, the Islamist circles in that country carry considerable political weight and vocally oppose a change in Pakistan’s foreign policy toward Israel.

Nevertheless, the recurrent debates in Pakistan over Israel reflect the latter’s improved international standing. The Pakistanis cannot ignore the shift in attitudes of the Sunni elites in the Arab world toward Israel. When in 1991 the United States convened the Madrid peace conference, all Arab states accepted the invitation and agreed to sit with the Israeli delegation, signaling a greater acceptance of Israel in a U.S.-dominated world. Egypt and Jordan signed peace treaties with Israel. The 1993 Oslo Accords between Israel and the PLO reinforced this trend of political realism.
Riaz Haq said…
All Weather Friends: #China and #Pakistan #Space Cooperation. Pakistan’s space program is set to benefit greatly from China’s advanced #technology. Expect to send #Pakistani #astronaut in space soon. @Diplomat_APAC https://thediplomat.com/2020/01/all-weather-friends-china-and-pakistan-space-cooperation/


In 1962, Pakistan became the third Asian country to launch rockets. ....In September of the same year (1962) , Salam started the Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) in Karachi, eight years before India formalized its own space agency, the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO). After that, four top scientists from Pakistan were sent to United States for training at NASA. Salam’s growing eminence in the scientific world won him accolades. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1979, which became a beacon to attract young talents to Pakistan’s space organization.

In 1962, Pakistan became the third Asian country to launch rockets. That year, SUPARCO launched its first rocket, Rehbar I, from the Karachi coast with help from NASA just before India launched its first rocket from Thumba launching station. Despite this headstart, today SUPARCO is a long way behind ISRO due to poor education funding and military leadership interfering in scientific goals.

SUPARCO soon moved its focus to the atomic bomb project, taking key resources and scientists away from space endeavors. But the most drastic fall in the Pakistani space program came between the 1980s and 1990s, when then-President Zia-ul-Haq cut off the funding to major projects such as the communication satellite program. After that, military generals were made leaders in the organization, replacing scientists, and the new focus was on countering India through conventional and nuclear acquisitions. That left little funds to take on some of Pakistan’s more ambitious space projects. By contrast, ISRO launched its first communication satellite in 1981, started technology sharing programs with many countries, and in 1988 unveiled a remote sensing satellite system, which is now the largest in the world. Pakistan, meanwhile, only launched its first satellite, Badr I, in 1990 with the assistance of the Chinese.

---------


The two countries also signed a 2012-2020 roadmap for space cooperation between SUPARCO and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in 2012. During Prime Minister Imran Khan’s visit to Beijing in 2018, both countries agreed to move forward with that agreement. As part of their joint collaboration on space missions, Pakistan has expressed its willingness to send a Pakistani astronaut into space on a Chinese spacecraft. At the AirTech conference in December 2017, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman stated that Pakistan would send astronauts into space with China’s help by 2020. China has also successfully launched two remote sensing satellites for its “all-weather” friend Pakistan. And in April 2019 China and Pakistan signed an agreement on space exploration, which marks a new phase in space science cooperation between the all-weather allies.

-----------

China has proposed building a “Space Silk Road” to virtually enhance its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), including the linchpin China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, into a three-dimensional (space, land, and water) super-project. In the Space Silk Road, China’s Beidou satellites would help with navigation from submarines to aircraft and will connect all the BRI countries. Pakistan also requested China’s participation in the development of the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS). PRSS-1, launched in 2018, is considered yet another flagship project for China-Pakistan relations.
Riaz Haq said…
The Rocket & Satellite Company, #Pakistan’s First Private Space Company, Is Ready To Launch. It will offer low-cost solutions in three main areas: space launch systems, satellite manufacturing, and ground segment as a service. #Space #Satellites #Rockets https://spacewatch.global/?p=22477

Pakistan’s first private space company, The Rocket & Satellite Company Limited, announced this week that it has registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Government of Pakistan.

The company announced that it will offer low-cost solutions in three main areas: space launch systems, satellite manufacturing, and ground segment as a service. In the long-term, the company plans to offer solutions in the areas of space debris and in-orbit satellite servicing to increase satellite life.

The Rocket & Satellite Company Limited’s space debris solution will reduce the risk of satellite and spacecraft in-space collisions due to space debris, saving significant money for space-based companies. Its focus will be to provide low cost space technology and provide solutions for the issue of space debris through the combined use of artificial intelligence (AI) and space tech.

Additionally, the the company will address in-orbit servicing to increase the lifespan of a satellite by providing platform for scientists, engineers, professionals, and students to offer their skills and serve space industries, ensuring the best solutions for the betterment of humanity.

The Rocket & Satellite Company Limited is based in Karachi and led by CEO Sami Ullah Khan. Further information is available on the company’s website, as well as its social media presence on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Riaz Haq said…
#NASA #astronauts, #scientists answer #Pakistani fourth-graders’ #science questions on Twitter. #Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield, #American TV host Emily Calandrelli replied to the tweet https://gn24.ae/aa2409bc4ec6000

A group of fourth graders from Karachi got the surprise of their lives today when they wrote a letter asking American space agency Nasa (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) some questions about space and got replies from astronauts and space experts.

Students of The Cornerstone School in Karachi, Pakistan, had some questions for astronauts about travelling to space. Promoting curiosity in her students, their teacher helped them post the questions on Twitter. She tagged Nasa’s official Twitter account as well as some astronauts in hopes of getting a response.

The tweet soon started gaining attention as people began retweeting it to help make it viral. Eventually, astronauts and space experts took notice of it and replied.

The Emmy-nominated American science TV host Emily Calandrelli, who hosts Xploration Outer Space and Emily’s Wonder Lab, was the first expert to reply to the tweet.

A 10-year-old student Alisha had asked: “What fuel does a spaceship use?”

Calandrelli replied: “All different types! Some popular rockets that you’ll see will use a fuel plus an oxidiser. For example, something called RP-1 and then liquid oxygen. These are combined and then *ignited* and burned to create a big (controlled) explosion that moves the rocket!”

Nine-year-old Haniyah asked: “Is it true that it rains diamonds on Jupiter?”

The MIT-engineer replied: “It’s definitely possible!! The same physics and chemistry that creates diamonds here on Earth (putting carbon under super high heat/pressure) exist on planets like Jupiter, so some scientists hypothesize that it’s raining diamonds there. Wouldn’t it be fun to see that?”

Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield who often shares space videos replied to 10-year-old Mahrukh’s question: “How do you feel when you get blasted off in a space shuttle?”

@Cmdr_Hadfield replied: “Mahrukh - I flew in the Space Shuttle twice. You feel violently shaken, squished, super-focused, excited, and lucky.”

He also replied to another student named Rayyan, who asked: “Do you get scared that your space shuttle might get lost?”

Along with a picture of Karachi from space, @Cmdr_Hadfield tweeted: “Rayyan - I wasn't scared we'd get lost. We had the Earth nearby, and used the stars to steer. I felt especially comforted when I flew over home. Here's a photo I took of Karachi - can you find your school?”

By October 15 morning, screenshots of the tweet were viral on other social media platforms as well. And Nasa scientists and space experts started replying to the questions on Reddit. Twitter users later posted these responses in reply to the teacher’s original tweet.

Tweep @tahaazher wrote: “Also these replies from Nasa scientists on @reddit. They have invited the students when the pandemic is over.”

That’s not all. The students got a reply from the control centre of Ariane 6, which is a launch system developed and manufactured under the authority of the European Space Agency. And the German Aerospace Center also sent replies to their questions.

The excited teacher, Aimun, shared an update with the reactions the students had when she handed them the responses that all the space experts had sent in.

Twitter users found the thread of questions and answers very heartening, and some even felt emotional after reading it.

Many Pakistani tweeps also commended the teacher for thinking of putting the questions on Twitter. @smoodwrites replied: "I'm really glad you did this. I was a super space-curious kid... Pakistan needs more teachers like you."
Riaz Haq said…
THREAD - Shaheen-III SSBM by Shahid Raza

https://twitter.com/schaheid/status/1351886487160287232?s=20

NESCOM's #ShaheenIII entered development in early 2000s. A Solid Fuel Missile, it was competing against Ghauri-III Liquid Fueled Missile by KRL. It was originally envisioned as a Space Launch Vehicle (SLV),but later evolved into a weapon system.


1: Its stated range is 2750km, that puts 100% of Indian territory within its strike range, including Nicobar Islands.

2: Its actual range can however be greater than the stated range. Pakistan normally under-states the ranges of its missiles for geopolitical reasons.

3: It gives Pakistan a highly advanced delivery system to deploy multiple nuclear warheads anywhere in Flag of India in a highly complex Ballistic Missile Defense environment, with next to no reaction time.

4: Its also compatible with the latest generation of Pakistan's nuclear warheads.

5: It provides Pakistan with full spectrum deterrence against a heavily armed adversary.

6: It also opens up the possibility for building a Space Launch Vehicle (SLV) for Space exploration, if and when the Govt decides to do so.

If you found this thread informative, do RT

Shaheen-III outperformed the Ghauri-III and the latter project was canceled in favour of Shaheen-III. The Missile completed its parliamentary phase of development in 2015 when its first test was carried out. After 5 years of further development, it has been tested today.

This test vehicle may have taken 5 years to develop, but it packs some ground breaking technology. It is believed that Shaheen-III is compatible with the Ababeel Multiple Independently Targetable Reentry Vehicle (MITREV), and its commissioned variant will be equipped with it.

It may also incorporate Beidu GPS guidance to drastically improve its Circular Error Probability (CEP), as well as Gas Thrusters installed on its Reentry Vehicle (RV) to maneuver the warhead during mid course, re entry phase to avid interception by Ballistic Missile interceptors.

With the inclusion of MITREV, GPS, Thrust Vectoring and high thrust rocket engines, the Shaheen-III SSBM is nearing commission into the Army Strategic Forces Command (ASFC).

Now that the technical jargon is out of the way let's discuss its implications.


Riaz Haq said…
#Pakistan’s Successful Test Of 2,750-kilometer Shaheen-III #Missile: It can reach the farthest points of #India specially the Nicobar & Andaman Islands in Bay of Bengal. Its successful tests and flights open up the possibility of #space exploration– OpEd https://www.eurasiareview.com/18022021-pakistans-successful-test-of-shaheen-iii-missile-achieving-full-spectrum-deterrence-oped/

Quite recently, in January 2021, Pakistan has conducted a successful flight test of Shaheen-III ballistic missile, capable of carrying both nuclear and conventional payloads. It was first tested in 2015 and said to have a range of 2,750 kilometers. This enables it to reach the farthest points of India specially the Nicobar and Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. These Islands hold great strategic significance for India since they are believed to provide assured land-based second-strike options to India.

Similarly, they are also critical for Indian missile testing. Shaheen-III is a medium-range surface-to-surface two staged solid fueled missile equipped with Post Separation Altitude Correction (PSAC) system. Being a solid-fueled missile enables rapid response capability and PSAC allows it to have better trajectory and accuracy with the capability to evade the deployed ballistic missile defence (BMD) systems. Moreover, it can be launched through “Transporter Erector Launcher (TELs), which can move and hide. This makes the launcher more survivable as compared to the fixed launchers. As of now, the missile has not been operationally deployed.

This particular test was conducted by Pakistan to evaluate the design and technical parameters of the Shaheen-III weapon system. Moreover, the Arabian Sea was the point of impact. It was reiterated by Pakistan after the successful test that Pakistan’s nuclear capability is India-centric and the objective of its strategic capability is only to deter “any aggression” against the “sovereignty of Pakistan”. Missile tests in South Asia are routinely exercised as both countries are improving their capabilities of delivery vehicles to maintain the credibility of their deterrence forces. Moreover, they serve the purpose of “signaling” and “readiness” of forces. Just last year, India has conducted 17 missile tests, amid its growing tensions at its northern borders while Pakistan conducted only two missile tests. However, to avoid inadvertent escalation and accidents both countries have the agreement on informing each other before missiles tests. Moreover, Pakistan believes in peaceful co-existence in the region.

Defence analysts believe that the Shaheen-III missile system’s development started in the early 2000s and initially, it was envisaged as a “Space Launch Vehicle (SLV). Therefore its successful tests and flights open up the possibility of space exploration for Pakistan as well. It is also believed that Ababeel, a Multiple Independently re-entry targeted Vehicle (MIRV) missile, is also compatible with the designs of Shaheen-III and II. Ababeel, a three-staged, solid-fueled, medium-range surface-to-surface missile was tested by Pakistan back in January 2017. Successful tests of the Shaheen-III missile system would likely enable Pakistan to acquire MIRV technology to maintain a credible deterrence force vis-à-vis India. To ensure the effectiveness and accuracy of different re-entry vehicles going in different directions, Pakistan has bought large-scale “optical tracking and measurement systems” from China. These systems would allow Pakistan to record high-resolution images of the whole process of missile launch till its impact (launch, stage separation, tail flame, re-entry, and impact).
Riaz Haq said…
Who would live and who would die: The inside story of the Iranian attack on Al Asad Airbase - CBS News


https://www.cbsnews.com/news/iranian-attack-al-asad-air-base-60-minutes-2021-08-08/

In January 2020, when the U.S. launched a drone strike to kill Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, 2,000 American troops at Al Asad Airbase in Iraq braced for a retaliatory attack. They thought it probably would be a volley of rockets lobbed into their base, each carrying at most a 60-pound warhead.

Instead, Iran began moving ballistic missiles carrying warheads weighing more than 1,000 pounds into place for a full bombardment. An Army intelligence officer gave Major Alan Johnson his assessment of the Iranian threat: "Their intention is to level this base and we may not survive."

Like many Americans on the base, Johnson, 51, turned on his phone to record a final goodbye for his family: "Just know in your heart that I love you," he tearfully told his 6-year-old son. "Bye buddy."

-----------------------------------

Haines, head of the security forces protecting the base, was patrolling in his armored vehicle when the first missile hit just 75 yards away at 1:34 a.m.

It was like "old videos of Hiroshima," Haines said. "The bright light after it exploded, the cloud and the brightness."

The Iranian missiles continued in waves, and Americans left on the ground didn't know when another barrage was coming or where it might land

Johnson was knocked temporarily unconscious by the first blast. "The next thing I recall is our First Sergeant yelling at us . . . 'Everything's on fire. We gotta get out of here!' And that's when I realized, like, the fire was just rolling over the bunkers, you know, like 70 feet in the air . . . It's imperative we get out of the bunker or we're going to burn to death."

Johnson took off across open ground, sprinting for better cover when a loudspeaker blared out another alert: "Incoming! Incoming! Take Cover! Take Cover!" The missiles sounded like freight trains roaring by, he said.

"We get to the next bunker and realize there's roughly 40 people trying to stuff themselves into this bunker that's made for about 10 folks. . . I'm . . . the last person in line. . . and I grabbed the guy in front of me and, like, 'You got to get in the bunker!' and just like – shoved everybody in there."


Army Sergeant Kimo Keltz held his ground in a guard tower on the exposed perimeter of the base. One salvo hit just 30 yards away. Keltz curled into a fetal position to protect his vital organs. The blast wave lifted him two inches off the floor.

When it was over, Keltz and the other Americans emerged from their positions celebrating what seemed to be a miracle – no one was killed and there seemed to be no serious casualties. It would take hours, even days before they realized more than 100 soldiers and airmen suffered traumatic brain injury.

Keltz was one of them "because of how many blasts I took – within such a close radius of me."

Keltz's symptoms were like "someone hitting me over the head with a hammer over and over and over." Doctors have told him he has "concussive syndrome," a condition which may afflict him for the rest of his life.

Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan, China space cooperation being revved up
The Pakistani space programme did not witness as much growth as was expected and planned due to increased focus by the government on the nuclear programme

https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/pakistan-china-space-cooperation-being-revved-up-121100300522_1.html (Indian source)

Pakistan and China have been collaborating in the field of space technology for some time now. The progress made thus far by Pakistan in building its space infrastructure has been mainly a result of constant assistance from China, even though Pakistan had taken the initiative of setting up its Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) as early as in 1961 with a promising dream of building its own space architecture under the guidance and supervision of Abdus Salam -- a Pakistani physicist and Nobel Laureate, who is also the founder of the Pakistani space programme.



However, over the years, the Pakistani space programme did not witness as much growth as was expected and planned due to increased focus by the government on the nuclear programme. This led to shifting of scientific talent and resources towards Pakistan's nuclear programme.

Moreover, the years of governance by the military led to a lack of freedom and independence for scientists in Pakistan. Realization of prioritized objectives became the mainstay of the scientific community. Subsequently, with the signing of an agreement between the Chinese Ministry of Aerospace Industry and SUPARCO in 1991, the Pakistani space programme got more attention.

Over the years, one saw considerable exchanges between the two sides as the Pakistani space program saw progress and growth. China and Pakistan also signed a 2012-2020 roadmap for space cooperation between SUPARCO and the China National Space Administration (CNSA) in 2012. This agreement sets the pace for more intensive cooperation between the two sides.



Besides, the fact that China and Pakistan have signed an agreement on space exploration, China has also successfully launched two remote sensing satellites for Pakistan. There are also plans for Pakistan to send an astronaut to space with the help of China. The Chinese have also been assisting Pakistan in its Remote Sensing Satellite project.



According to reliable inputs, SUPARCO is in the process of acquiring Satellite Image Telemetry Service and Associated Ground Station for High-Resolution Optical Satellite Constellation. In this regard, a Chinese entity M/s China Great Wall Industry Corporation (CGWIC), has come forward in cooperating with SUPARCO. The technical proposal submitted by the company is presently under consideration before being finalized. Earlier, in August 2020, SUPARCO was in the process of procuring High-Resolution Optical Satellite imagery data and its telemetry services, and the Chinese company M/s China Volant Industries Co. Ltd. (VOLINCO) had come forward with assistance.



Pakistan has also been exploring the possibility of cooperation with other countries in the space sector with the aim of modernizing and advancing its space programme. In this connection, a three-member delegation from SUPARCO was scheduled to visit (September 5) Bucharest to meet officials of M/s Airbus Defence and Space. The delegation, led by Zafar Iqbal, Member, Space Application Research Wing, was also to discuss possible areas of bilateral cooperation with Romania in the field of Space Sciences,Technology & Applications. M/s Airbus Defence and Space, Romania, established in 2005, is a subsidiary of M/s Airbus that provides a full spectrum of defence & space products and related services.



Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan, China space cooperation being revved up
The Pakistani space programme did not witness as much growth as was expected and planned due to increased focus by the government on the nuclear programme

https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/pakistan-china-space-cooperation-being-revved-up-121100300522_1.html (Indian source)

Pakistan has also been exploring the possibility of cooperation with other countries in the space sector with the aim of modernizing and advancing its space programme. In this connection, a three-member delegation from SUPARCO was scheduled to visit (September 5) Bucharest to meet officials of M/s Airbus Defence and Space. The delegation, led by Zafar Iqbal, Member, Space Application Research Wing, was also to discuss possible areas of bilateral cooperation with Romania in the field of Space Sciences,Technology & Applications. M/s Airbus Defence and Space, Romania, established in 2005, is a subsidiary of M/s Airbus that provides a full spectrum of defence & space products and related services.



Space programmes are of enormous value for a developing nation especially in the context of peaceful uses of space technology which can contribute towards climate monitoring, agriculture science, socio-economic sector, urban planning etc. However, Pakistan has always been seeking a competitive edge over India in every sphere and the high degree of insecurity that prevails in the Pakistani establishment vis-a-vis India has undoubtedly led to a strong defence centric focus of its space programme.

With China's assistance, Pakistan would have been inevitably working towards proactively building the framework of a defence oriented space programme. This is an area that will warrant close watch by the international community as behind the scene cooperation between China and Pakistan can lead to damaging outcomes, especially since Pakistan's core objective in expanding its space and nuclear programmes has been to remain a step ahead, if not at par, of India.

Riaz Haq said…
How #Pakistani #nuclear scientist #AbdulQadeerKhan escaped assassination by #Mossad? Had #Israeli #intelligence chief Shavit understood what Khan was doing, he could've "changed the course of history," at least in the context of Israel-#Iran relations. https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/how-pakistan-s-a-q-khan-father-of-the-muslim-bomb-escaped-mossad-assassination-1.10282556

by Yossi Melman

Abdul Qadeer Khan, who died this week in Islamabad, got Pakistan the bomb, stole and sold atomic secrets, profited from a shady global proliferation network, helped Iran go nuclear, aided Gadhafi's reactor ambitions – and still passed away from natural causes, not at the hands of the Mossad

Abdul Qadeer (A.Q.) Khan who has just died at the age of 85 from COVID-19, is considered a national hero in Pakistan, his homeland. There, and worldwide, he has been dubbed the "Father of Pakistan's nuclear weapons." But he could equally be called as the Godfather of Iran’s nuclear program.


Born in India in 1936, Khan moved with his family in the wake of partition to Pakistan in 1952. In 1972, at the age of 36, he was sent to specialize in a Dutch laboratory and workshop, which was part of the European URENCO consortium, building centrifuges to enrich uranium.



Khan stole their documents and plans but then, in 1975, he was exposed by Dutch intelligence and fled to Pakistan. There, he persuaded the reluctant prime minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, to start a nuclear program to match India’s nuclear weapons.


By pure coincidence, the same year, Arnon Milchan, future Hollywood tycoon and then an Israeli spy, was also involved in a similar theft. According to foreign reports, Milchan and Israel’s 'Scientific Liaison Bureau' intelligence unit bought URENCO’s drawings of centrifuges from a German engineer and built similar centrifuges in Dimona for Israel’s nuclear weapons.


After helping his home country build a significant nuclear arsenal, Khan retired and opened an unusual private business. He set up shop in Dubai and from there ran a convoluted and secretive global network of helpers, engineers, contractors, and financiers, offering other states his nuclear knowhow, tradecraft, technology, and equipment. The network rented workshops, factories, offices, and computer centers in several countries including Malaysia, North Korea, and Switzerland, to name a few.



Clothed with the aura of the nuclear genius who facilitated the first "Muslim bomb," A.Q. Khan traveled extensively during the late 80’s and early 90’s throughout the Middle East, offering his services. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Algeria and even Syria rejected his mercenary approach of bombs for bucks. Iran and Libya did accept, but altered the terms and scope of the offer.


Lacking serious scientific infrastructure and expertise, Libya’s then-leader Muammar Gadhafi asked Khan and his team to provide Tripoli with a turn-key project whereby Khan would be responsible for handing over a completed nuclear capacity.


Post-revolutionary Iran, on the other hand, being a proud nation with an already relatively advanced nuclear program developed during the Shah's reign, and good universities and scientists who had studied in the West, chose its own path.

Iran bought from Khan the drawings and plans of Pakistan’s centrifuges known as P1 and P2. Iranian scientists, led by Dr. Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was recently gunned down by a Mossad hit team, built their own centrifuges, renaming them Ir-1 and Ir-2, according to foreign reports.


These original centrifuges, which Iran has upgraded and improved since then to be faster and more efficient, continuing the series by calling them Ir-3-4-5-6-7, are now spinning in the uranium enrichment facilities of Natanz and Fordow and are the major concern for Israel, the U.S., and the western world in terms of Iran's nuclear program and intentions.

Riaz Haq said…
Solidifying India-Israel relations with miltech quid pro quo; 1982 Indo-Israeli plans for Kahuta strike
Posted on November 14, 2016 by Bharat Karnad


https://bharatkarnad.com/2016/11/14/solidifying-india-israel-relations-with-miltech-quid-pro-quo-1982-indo-israeli-plans-for-kahuta-strike/

A year later, I was reporting on the Israeli military advance into Beirut where I met with the Israeli army chief Moshe Dayan’s legendary MilIntel head from the 1956 Sinai Operations, retired Major General Aharon Yaariv then in Reserve and called up for duty, at the Kiryat Shimona kibbutz just this side of the Israeli border. It was Yaariv who told me over breakfast the story of how Indira Gandhi had first approved of an Israeli strike on the Pakistani uranium enrichment centrifuge complex in Kahuta in 1982 with Indian help but called off the raid just before it got underway.

The Israelis who had taken out Saddam Hussein’s Osiraq military reactor in Baghdad in June 1981 had planned the attack, according to Yaariv, thus: A sortie of six IsAF F-16s and like number of F-15s flying combat air patrol (CAP) were to come in from Haifa over the southern Arabian Sea into Jamnagar where the crews would rest up for a couple of days, and tie-up last minute, minor, changes in the flight and mission plans. The IsAF strike and CAP aircraft would then take off from Jamnagar, fly over central India and into Udhampur where previously IsAF C-17s would have landed with a cargo of deep penetration and detonation weapons for use on Kahuta targets. The Israelis had warned GOI that their aircraft would fly with Israeli roundels and entirely unmasked because, as Yaariv put it, they didn’t trust the Indians, who would be the principal beneficiaries, to not claim that it was a solely Israeli initiative in which India had no role whatsoever. “We wanted India to be fully involved and implicated and to share in the responsibility for the mission”, he told me, even though the IsAF could have carried out the entire operation all by itself using aerial refuelers as was done on the strike on the PLO HQ outside Tunis (over 1,500 miles away) in 1985. The plans were thereafter for the Israeli F-16-F-15 complement to top off their tanks, upload the special heavy ordnance on fuselage points and take off, flying in the lee of the mountains to avoid Pakistani radar detection, before coming into the open for the final bomb run over target — two F-16s at a time drooping their loads and egressing as the F-15s circled overhead to take care of any interference by PAF air defence aircraft. The attacks completed the F-16s would continue flying west, out of Pakistani airspace, before dipping southwards and returning to home base. The IsAF aircraft breaking out into the open from the mountain shadows would not have afforded PAF and Pakistani RBS-70 anti-aircraft guns (ex-Sweden) enough time to erect and fire away. (Wrote about it first in the Sunday Observer in the mid 1980s.)

Riaz Haq said…
Turkish Aerospace, Pakistan to jointly develop satellite projects | Daily Sab


https://www.dailysabah.com/business/defense/turkish-aerospace-pakistan-to-jointly-develop-satellite-projects

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a cooperation agreement with Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) on Wednesday to develop space and satellite projects.

Turkish defense giant TAI and SUPARCO will carry out joint studies on electric communication satellites and other space projects within the scope of the agreement.

"We have signed a cooperation deal with the SUPARCO to develop satellite projects. We wish good luck for the two countries,” said TAI in a statement on Twitter.

In Dec. 2019, TAI opened its first office in Pakistan at the country's National Science and Technology Park.

Speaking at the Satellite Technologies Week held in December, TAI CEO Temel Kotil said that they are looking for new customers for the SmallGEO satellite, a telecommunications satellite platform that works with an electric propulsion system.

“It looks like we found a customer, but we don't share it because it has not been finalized. If it does, we will build three more satellites. A fourth customer also showed up. When these are finalized, we will reach five satellites in total,” said Kotil, adding that if TAI made these satellites in three or four years, Turkey would be able to achieve a good figure in satellite exports.

Turkey inked its first satellite export deal with an Argentinian company in August at the International Defense Industries Fair (IDEF) held in Istanbul.

Recently, TAI also signed a memorandum of understanding on space and satellite systems with El Salvador during President Nayib Bukele's Turkey visit last week.
Riaz Haq said…
China To Build #Space Centre, More #Satellites For #Pakistan. #China has provided space product & #technology cooperation, satellite carrying or launching services for many countries like #SaudiArabia, Pakistan,#Argentina, #Brazil, #Canada and #Luxembourg.
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/china-to-build-space-centre-more-satellites-for-pakistan-2735897

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Full Text: China's Space Program: A 2021 Perspective


http://www.china.org.cn/china/2022-01/28/content_78016843.htm

"It will give priority to developing communications satellites for Pakistan and to cooperating on the construction of the Pakistan Space Center and Egypt's Space City"

"China has increased the BeiDou system's global service capacity by establishing BeiDou cooperation forum mechanisms with the League of Arab States and the African Union, completing the first overseas BeiDou center in Tunisia, and conducting satellite navigation cooperation with countries such as Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Argentina, South Africa, Algeria, and Thailand"


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Together with relevant partners China has developed and successfully launched the China-France Oceanography Satellite, China-Brazil Earth Resources Satellite 04A, and the Ethiopian Remote-Sensing Satellite. It has launched the Student Small Satellites (SSS) for APSCO. It is jointly developing the MisrSat-2 remote-sensing satellite.

· China completed the in-orbit delivery of the Pakistan Remote-Sensing Satellite (PRSS-1), Venezuelan Remote-Sensing Satellite (VRSS-2), Sudan Remote-Sensing Satellite (SRSS-1), and the Algerian Communications Satellite (Alcomsat-1).

· China has provided satellite carrying or launching services for countries including Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, and Luxembourg.

· China has conducted space product and technology cooperation with countries including Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Argentina, Pakistan, and Nigeria.

· China has helped developing countries boost their space science and research. It has built satellite research and development infrastructure with countries including Egypt, Pakistan and Nigeria. It has pressed ahead with the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative Space Information Corridor, and opened China's space facilities to developing countries.


Riaz Haq said…
China's CNSA To Help Asia’s Oldest Space Agency SUPARCO With Satellites

https://eurasiantimes.com/pakistan-china-asias-oldest-space-agency-suparco-satellites/


While Beijing and Islamabad have a space exploration agreement, China has formally confirmed for the first time that it will assist Pakistan in the construction of what is being dubbed the Pakistan Space Centre (PSC). PSC is expected to produce satellites.

According to a white paper, China will “provide priority to producing communications satellites for Pakistan and cooperating on the establishment of the Pakistan Space Centre.”

Islamabad announced plans in 2018 to construct the PSC to spearhead indigenous satellite development and manufacture, according to the Associated Press of Pakistan, a state-owned news agency.

APP said that the PSC will be capable of manufacture, testing, system-level assembly, integration, launch, and operations of numerous types of satellites.

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Meet Pakistan's Space Innovator - Bloomberg


https://www.bloomberg.com/news/videos/2022-01-26/meet-pakistan-s-space-innovator-video

Meet Pakistan's Space Innovator
"We're out to change mindsets and that is not something easy." Meet Zartaj Ahmed. The engineer-turned-educator wants to transform the way STEM is taught in Pakistan through her space science education center. (Source: Bloomberg)
Riaz Haq said…
Turkey close to securing space technology agreements with Pakistan, Azerbaijan
Turkey has expressed intentions to cooperate with Pakistan and Azerbaijan in the field of space technology.

https://www.islamabadscene.com/turkey-to-sign-space-technology-cooperation-agreement-with-pakistan-and-azerbaijan/

“Our contracts with Azerbaijan and Pakistan in the field of space activities are ready, we have reached the stage of signing,” Turkish Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank was quoted as saying by APA.

The minister said Turkey is at the signing stage of agreements with space agencies of Pakistan and Azerbaijan to improve collaboration in the use of space for civilian purposes which requires international cooperation.

Meanwhile, on February 9, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced the country’s ambitious 10-year national space program which includes sending Turkish astronauts into space, developing a new generation of satellites, building a spaceport, and reaching the Moon by 2023 which is the primary and most important mission of the program. In January 2021, SpaceX launched a Turkish communications satellite into orbit.

Pakistan, Turkey and Azerbaijan recently entered into a new phase of a strategic partnership with the visits of Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu and Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov to Islamabad last month.

The three friendly countries announced to improve collaboration in political, strategic, economic, security, science, and technology fields. The collaboration in space technology will take the partnership to a new level as the future of space will be marked by collaboration.

Pakistan launched its first communications satellite PAKSAT-1R in August 2011 that marked the defining moment in the country’s space program. In 2018, Pakistan launched a remote-sensing (PRSS-1) satellite and a technology evaluation satellite (PakTES-1A) after SUPARCO and the China Great Wall Industrial Cooperation signed a space cooperation agreement.

In 2014, Pakistan became the first foreign country to shift to the China-based GPS system called BeiDou which reduces dependency on Global Positioning System (GPS) by the United States in both civil and military sectors.

Collaboration with China and now Turkey will greatly benefit Pakistan to meet the goals of Pakistan’s Space Program 2047 and the country’s future scientific requirements.
Riaz Haq said…
The Military Rockets that Launched the Space Age

https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/military-rockets-launched-space-age


Rockets launched the Space Age. They provided the power needed to take spacecraft and people on flights beyond the Earth. Starting with the launch of the first satellite Sputnik in 1957 and continuing through today, countries and companies around the globe have built a variety of rockets to travel into space for science, defense, commerce, and tourism.

Early rocket technology for spaceflight from the mid-1940s into the 1960s developed alongside—and in many cases because of—military applications for missiles. In the early Cold War, both the United States and the Soviet Union began building rockets to use as long-range weapons. But this race to build missiles for defense soon turned into a race to build rockets for space exploration. The same rocket that could carry a nuclear warhead could (and sometimes did) also launch spacecraft into orbit. This intense investment in engineering for missiles and rockets sparked off the Space Race.

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on October 4, 1957, a Soviet ICBM launched the satellite Sputnik and the Space Age. This event startled the world, giving the impression that America was behind the Soviets in science and technology. Subsequent U.S. launch failures heightened that perception. What began as a competition to build new rockets for defense and militaristic purposes now also became a competition to reach space.

After Sputnik's success, the explosion of Vanguard on its launch pad on December 6, 1957 drew further attention to the Soviet lead in space. America's first success in space came on January 31, 1958, when Explorer 1 was launched aboard an Army Jupiter-C, which was a modified Redstone ballistic missile. In February a second U.S. attempt to launch a Vanguard satellite failed. The American media and Congress demanded to know how the Soviets had beaten the United States into space. One response by the Eisenhower administration and Congress was to establish the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan has launched six satellites, including the Pakistan Remote Sensing Satellite (PRSS). Pakistan has non-kinetic anti-satellite options, including: Jamming, Spoofing, Meaconing, Laser, High-powered microwave attacks.

https://cscr.pk/explore/themes/defense-security/non-kinetic-anti-satellite-options-for-pakistan/#:~:text=access%20to%20it.-,Non%2Dkinetic%20ASAT%20options%20include%20jamming%2C%20spoofing%2C%20meaconing%2C,fooling%20an%20adversary's%20potential%20offensive.


Anti-satellite weapons (ASATs) can be kinetic or non-kinetic. Kinetic ASATs physically crash into satellites. Non-kinetic ASATs use non-physical attacks, such as cyber-attacks, jamming, and blinding satellites with lasers

https://www.space.com/anti-satellite-weapons-asats

No ASAT system has been used in warfare. However, some countries, including China, India, Russia, and the United States, have shot down their own satellites to demonstrate their ASAT capabilities. ASATs have also been used to remove decommissioned satellites.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-satellite_weapon#:~:text=Although%20no%20ASAT%20system%20has,used%20to%20remove%20decommissioned%20satellites.
Riaz Haq said…
Space Policy
Volume 47, February 2019, Pages 63-75
Space Policy
Space Programs of India and Pakistan: Military and Strategic Installations in Outer Space and Precarious Regional Strategic Stability
Author links open overlay panel Mian Zahid Hussain, Raja Qaiser Ahmed


Pakistan's Shaheen III ballistic missile has a multi-stage solid-fuel technology that can be used to launch satellites into space. The Shaheen III has a range of 1,700 miles and can hit targets up to 2,750 km away.
It was first test-fired in 2015 and displayed during a military parade in 2016. The Shaheen III is Pakistan's longest-range missile.
Pakistan has kept all tests of the Shaheen III secret. Some speculate that a variant of the Shaheen III could be Pakistan's first space launch vehicle (SLV).


https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0265964617300929#:~:text=There%20are%20speculations%20from%20reliable,a%20range%20of%202200%20km.
Abstract
Outer space can be used for military and strategic purposes. The growing dependence of militaries on outer space assets in pursuit of operational and communicational undertakings make them productive assets and plausible targets for adversaries. Such threats push the states to take measures to secure their space assets. India is developing its dedicated military satellites for Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence and Surveillance (C4ISR) capabilities. The progress in military assets in outer space, Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) system, antisatellite weapons, surveillance, and intelligence capabilities are a major concern for Pakistan. Strategic stability in South Asia is under question, and there is a need to analyze the changing security dynamics of the region. This article provides a detailed overview of India's recent development on BMD system and other space assets of India and Pakistan. The emerging technologies will have serious implications for strategic stability in South Asia. This article is an attempt to understand the potential security scenarios between India and Pakistan and concludes that the technological asymmetries may lead to strategic instability.

Riaz Haq said…
U.S. Space Aid to India: On a "Glide Path" to ICBM Trouble?


https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2006-03/features/us-space-aid-india-glide-path-icbm-trouble#:~:text=In%20the%201980s%2C%20India%20adapted%20a%20space,to%20become%20the%20Agni%20medium%2Drange%20ballistic%20missile.


President John F. Kennedy was once asked the difference between the Atlas space launch vehicle that put John Glenn into orbit and an Atlas missile aimed at the Soviet Union. He answered with a one-word pun: “Attitude.” The established path to a space launch capability for China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States was to adapt a ballistic missile as a space launch vehicle.

India turned the process around, adapt ing a space launch vehicle as a ballistic missile. In the 1980s, India adapted a space launch vehicle, the SLV-3, to become the Agni medium-range ballistic missile. In keeping with India’s practice of describing nuclear and missile programs as civilian until their military character cannot be denied, India originally claimed that the Agni was a “technology demonstrator.” The Agni program now consists of three missiles with ranges, respectively, of approximately 700, 2,000, and 3,000 kilometers.

For nearly two decades, reports have indicated that India sought to use a simi lar tactic to develop an ICBM.[3] It appears, though, that India may have officially begun the ICBM project (commonly known as the Surya, although sometimes also known as Agni IV) in 1994.[4] Reports cite various dates, perhaps because the project has had several decision points.

Reports generally agree that the Surya program will result in several different missiles with ranges from 5,000 to 20,000 kilo meters.[5] It is widely claimed that the Surya will have the option of a nuclear payload, and sometimes the claim is made that the payload will consist of multiple nuclear warheads.

Reports also generally agree that the Surya will be a three-stage missile with the first two stages derived from the PSLV’s solid-fuel rockets. India obtained the solid-fuel tech nology for the SLV-3 and the PSLV from the United States in the 1960s.[6] India is said to be planning for the third Surya stage to use liquid fuel and to be derived either from the Viking rocket technology supplied by France in the 1980s (called Vikas when India manu factured PSLV stages with the technology) or from a more powerful, Russian-supplied cryogenic upper stage for the Geosynchro nous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), which is an adaptation of the PSLV.
If the Surya uses PSLV rocket motors, as is most frequently reported, it will be an enor mous rocket with solid-fuel stages 2.8 me ters (about nine feet) in diameter and a total weight of up to 275 metric tons. This would make it by far the largest ICBM in the world, with a launch weight about three times that of the largest U.S. or Russian ICBMs.

There appears to be no literature on Indian plans to harden or conceal the Surya launch site, which would be difficult to do because of the missile’s size and weight. If a cryogenic third stage is used, the launch process will be lengthy. This means that the Surya is likely to be vulnerable to at tack before launch, making it a first-strike weapon that could not survive in a conflict. Indeed, the Surya’s threatening nature and its pre-launch vulnerability would make it a classic candidate for pre-emptive attack in a crisis. In strategic theory, this leads to “crisis instability,” the increased incentive for a crisis to lead to strategic attacks because of each side’s premium on striking first.

The one report of a mobile ICBM based on a combination of PSLV and Agni technology makes more military sense.[7] Yet, as described below, it entails other serious concerns.
Why would India want the Surya? Its reported ranges suggest the answer.
Riaz Haq said…
The Rehbar series of rockets were launched into the upper atmosphere by Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO).
The first rocket in the series, Rehbar-I, was launched on June 7, 1962.
This was a unique achievement that even surprised NASA's specialists.
Pakistan was the first country in the developing world to launch a rocket.
They were the third country in Asia to launch a rocket, after Japan and Israel.
The Rehbar rocket series was an experimental program that played an important role in Pakistan's development of a missile program. Pakistan's first satellite, Badr-A, was launched on July 16, 1990.
Riaz Haq said…
The Shaheen-III is a medium-range ballistic missile with a maximum flight altitude of 692 kilometers. It can strike targets up to 2,750 kilometers away.

https://delhidefencereview.com/2022/06/08/pakistans-quest-for-ballistic-missile-capability-an-analysis-of-the-shaheen-iii-mrbm/#:~:text=The%20related%20properties%20for%20the%20simulation%20are%20shown%20in%20table%205%20below.&text=The%202015%20NOTAM%20indicates%20the,be%20in%20the%20Arabian%20Sea.

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The Kármán line is the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and outer space. It's located at an altitude of 62 miles (100 kilometers) above sea level. The Kármán line is the point where conventional aircraft can't fly.
The international community, including the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI), considers space to begin at the Kármán line. NASA and the U.S. military consider space to begin at an altitude of 50 miles (around 80 kilometers).
Space is also defined as the lowest altitude at which satellites can maintain orbits for a reasonable time. This altitude is approximately 160 kilometers (100 miles) above the surface.


Riaz Haq said…
India Made It to the Moon. That Doesn’t Make It a Top #Industrial Power. #Chandrayaan3Landing will not move big roadblocks on #India’s path to becoming a top industrial power. #Modi's “Make in India” hasn’t done much. #MakeInIndia #manufacturing #BJP
https://www.barrons.com/articles/india-moon-landing-industrial-power-3414fc0f

India took a giant leap into the ranks of advanced industrial nations when its Chandrayaan-3 unmanned spacecraft landed near the moon’s south pole on Aug. 23. At least to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi tell it. “Science and technology are the foundations of a bright future for our nation,” the 72-year-old Modi, who is favored to win a third term next year, told ecstatic staff at the Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO.
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Manufacturing’s share of gross domestic product is stuck at about 18%, according to S&P Global. That compares with 28% for China.

Modi’s (not very realistic) target is 25% by 2025. One big obstacle is policy-related: His government remains keen on import tariffs, some of which hit inputs needed to raise exports. “The Indian government has consistently raised tariff and nontariff barriers to protect domestic suppliers across most sectors,” the United States Trade Representative wrote in a recent report.

Another is a lag in transport infrastructure. Indian ports can’t accommodate the biggest container ships, so freight has to be transshipped through Singapore or Hong Kong. “To become the global manufacturing destination of choice, India will need massive upgrades in rail, port, and freight corridors,” write S&P researchers. That won’t happen by gazing at the moon.

Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan's first private space company, The Rocket & Satellite Company (TRSC), announced that they will launch their first space launch vehicle on August 14, 2025.

https://spacewatch.global/2020/08/the-rocket-and-satellite-company-announced-first-space-launch/#:~:text=The%20Rocket%20&%20Satellite%20Company%20(TRSC,Ullah%20Khan%20in%20Karachi%2C%20Pakistan.

The Rocket & Satellite Company (TRSC), Pakistan’s first private Space Company, announced that they will put their first Space Launch Vehicle into orbit on the 14th August, 2025 from Pakistan. TRSC is a private Commercial Space Company, founded by Sami Ullah Khan in Karachi, Pakistan. It will provide advanced and innovative services, solutions and products for the global Space-tech based market, supporting demanding and challenging missions in orbit and beyond.

According to Sami Ullah Khan, CEO of TRSC, “Our vision is to make life of Space companies easy to offer one solutions under one roof, such as services, solutions and products in Ground Segment, Satellites and Payload Launching domain, … great Space tech services, solutions and products at [an] affordable price for Space companies.”
Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan successfully test launches indigenously developed rocket system

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/pakistan-successfully-test-launches-indigenously-developed-rocket-system/articleshow/85594294.cms?from=mdr

Pakistan on Tuesday successfully test launched a indigenously developed guided multi-launch rocket system, Fatah-1, capable of precisely delivering conventional warheads deep into "enemy territory."

"The weapon system will give Pakistan Army the capability of precision target engagement deep in enemy territory,"

The Army said the rocket is capable of delivering conventional warheads.

No further details were shared about the rocket system.

President of Pakistan Arif Alvi, Prime Minister Imran Khan, Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Nadeem Raza, and Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa congratulated the troops and scientists on the successful conduct of flight test.

This was the second flight of Fatah-1, after its first launch in January. At the time, Director General of Pakistan Army, Media Wing, Major General Babar Iftikhar, said Fatah-1 weapon system can hit targets up to a range of 140 km.

Riaz Haq said…
Pakistan’s ‘historic’ lunar mission to be launched on Friday aboard China lunar probe

https://www.dawn.com/news/1830608/pakistans-historic-lunar-mission-to-be-launched-on-friday-aboard-china-lunar-probe

The Institute of Space Technology on Tuesday said Pakistan’s “historic” lunar mission iCube-Q will be launched on May 3 at 12:50pm on board China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe from Hainan, China.

According to the Institute of Space Technology (IST), the satellite ICUBE-Q has been designed and developed by IST in collaboration with China’s Shanghai University SJTU and Pakistan’s national space agency Suparco.

ICUBE-Q orbiter carries two optical cameras to image the lunar surface.

Following successful qualification and testing, iCube-Q has now been integrated with the Chang’e 6 mission.

Chang’e 6 is the sixth in a series of China’s lunar exploration missions.

The launch activity will be telecast live on the IST website and IST social media platforms.


China’s lunar mission will touch down on the moon’s far side to collect samples from the surface and return to Earth for research.

The mission holds significance for Pakistan as it will also take a CubeSat Satellite iCube-Q, developed by IST.

https://x.com/CathayPak/status/1784986592819450136

CubeSats are miniature satellites typically characterised by their small size and standardised design.

They are constructed in a cubic shape, consisting of modular components that adhere to specific size constraints.

These satellites often weigh no more than a few kilogrammes and were deployed in space for various purposes.

The primary purpose of CubeSats was to facilitate scientific research, technology development, and educational initiatives in space exploration.

These satellites were utilised for a wide range of missions, including Earth observations, remote sensing, atmospheric research, communications, astronomy and technology demonstration.

Due to their compact size and relatively low cost compared to traditional satellites, CubeSats offered opportunities for universities, research institutions and commercial entities to participate in space missions and gather valuable data for scientific advancement and innovation.

They serve as platforms for testing new technologies and concepts, enabling access to space for a broader range of users and promoting collaboration within the space community.

Last year in August, India became the first nation to land a craft near the Moon’s south pole, a historic triumph for its ambitious, cut-price space programme.
Riaz Haq said…
Will US sanctions make any difference to Pakistan’s missiles programme?
Pakistan’s missile programme continues despite six rounds of US sanctions in the past three years, experts say.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/9/15/will-us-sanctions-make-any-difference-to-pakistans-missiles-programme

The sanctions name China-based firms Hubei Huachangda Intelligent Equipment Co, Universal Enterprise and Xi’an Longde Technology Development Co, as well as Pakistan-based Innovative Equipment and a Chinese national, for “knowingly transferring equipment under missile technology restrictions”, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

According to the US, the Beijing Research Institute of Automation for Machine Building Industry (RIAMB) has collaborated with Pakistan’s National Development Complex (NDC), which Washington believes is involved in developing long-range ballistic missiles for Pakistan.

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Liu Pengyu, spokesperson for China’s embassy in Washington, said: “China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction that have no basis in international law or authorisation of the UN Security Council.”

Missile development continues
The most recent round of sanctions before this one, was announced in April 2024 when Washington blacklisted four companies from Belarus and China for supplying missile-applicable items to Pakistan’s long-range missile programme.

In response to those sanctions, Pakistan’s foreign ministry argued they had been imposed “without any evidence whatsoever” of foreign companies supplying its ballistic missiles programme.

“We reject the political use of export controls,” Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the foreign office spokesperson said in a statement in April, adding that some countries appear to enjoy exemptions from “non-proliferation” controls. It is understood that this refers to increasing cooperation between the US and the Indian defence sector.


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Tughral Yamin, a former military official and senior research fellow at the Institute of Policy Studies Islamabad (IPSI), suggested the sanctions may be more of a tactic by the US to exert pressure on China.

However, he expressed doubt over their effectiveness. “Pakistan’s missile programme has developed to a point where such repeated sanctions will not hamper our progress. We are far beyond that,” he told Al Jazeera.

Pakistan has maintained a robust missile programme for decades and has also developed nuclear warheads.

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In Pakistan’s arsenal, the medium-range Shaheen-III, which can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads and can travel as far as 2,750km (1,708 miles), is the country’s longest-range missile.

“[Pakistan’s] missiles, whether conventional or nuclear tipped, serve as a deterrent against India, and this policy has been transparent and consistent, and the deterrence still holds,” he added.

‘Aggressive stance’
US concerns about Pakistan’s missile programme and possible collaboration with China date back to the early 1990s, said Muhammad Faisal, a foreign policy expert and researcher based in Sydney, Australia.

“But it was during President Obama’s second tenure onwards, where the US officials have been calling on Pakistan to exercise restraint in expanding ranges of its ballistic missiles beyond India’s geographical limits,” Faisal said.

With six rounds of sanctions imposed over the past four years, the Biden administration has taken a particularly aggressive stance in targeting entities it believes are supporting Pakistan’s missile programme, Faisal said.

“The nuclear issue remains an irritant in the US-Pakistan relationship and, despite broader improvement in Islamabad-Washington ties, such periodic sanctioning of entities sends a message that the US will continue to deploy both carrots and sticks in its engagement with Pakistan,” he added.

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